Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 140:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 140:8: The line “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked” reaches Selah inside “Rescue from violent plotting and slander,” marking an ancient pause of uncertain performance.
Rescue is asked from violent men whose tongues are already weapons
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 140:1–13. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 140:1–13
Read Psalms 140:8 with 140:1–13. Read alone, “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 140:1–13, the individual voice carries the movement “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” as part of “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 140:1–13 opens Psalm 140 with “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man” and establishes the individual voice and “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 140:8 carries “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain.
What Remains True
In “Rescue from violent plotting and slander,” Psalm 140:8 carries “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain. The resulting truth stays bounded by this movement: Wrong and rage may be named honestly before the LORD, yet judgment remains accountable to justice and never turns another person into disposable prey. The local movement is “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The psalm names concrete violent patterns; it cannot be used to label ordinary opponents evil or justify counter-violence.
How It Can Shape Life
- Psalm 140:8 contributes to “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” in a specific way: Psalm 140:8 carries “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain. Respond by doing this: Name the actual harm behind “Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked”, seek protection and fair judgment, and refuse to enact the poem's anger against a critic, group, or imagined enemy.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 140:1–13 — Rescue from violent plotting and slanderSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 140:1–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 140:1–13
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 140:1–13.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 140 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 140:1–13
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗